Dying With The Moonlight
by Joji Sada
Summary: Remus finds a saviour in an unlikely soul who seeks a simple release. Both find a freedom that each had been condemned from seeking on their own. This is the legend of the power of one full moon. Oneshot. Finished. Slash.


**Disclaimer:** I do not own anything you can connect to J.K. Rowling. But if anyone is willing to let me play…grins…Story time.

**A/N:** This is a tear jerker. I have dedicated it to my good friend Occasus because she loves DM/RL pairings and this just filtered into my head. My comp was being stupidso I am using an alternative way to seperate scenes (**RLDM**). I am sooo sory and I hope it doesn't interrupt the stpry too much but I wanted to post it and this was my only solution. I hope everyone enjoys and reviews.

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A quaint little room bathed in the silver liquid of the full moon. The shadow of a pained man danced unwillingly as the life seeped from him.

It was different this time; rougher. His muscles spasms and locked as the echoed sounds of breaking bones filled the unearthly silence.

His mind jumbled with intense pain that clouded his thoughts from view. He let out a whimpered howl from his wolfish muzzle and collapsed on the unforgiving floor beneath.

Grimmauld Place was nothing without Sirius; nothing more than a haunted wasteland of rotted wood and an unfriendly past. Sirius had been his first friend, his lover, and above all else, his family. **That** man fell thru the unmerciful veil and took Remus Lupin with him. A shell remained while the wolf seeped greedily into the heart and mind of this torn man.

His legs no longer held him. The pain becoming unbearable with each second, far surpassing that of his first remembered transformation. With the house unceremoniously empty, he was **_alone_**. The war had ended, Harry Potter triumphant. The young man was now on his way to a honeymoon with Snape, of all people. The house remained abandoned and in his sole ownership; there was no one to find this weakened man nor mourn and stay with him, so the _wolf_ resigned himself to the fact that this was his final full moon.

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The tired wolf lay subdued at the foot of his oversized bed. He had no inclination to hunt tonight. His once amber coat was now spotted shots of a brutal grey.

Normally, this weakened state only furthered his ability to fight; strengthen his resolve. But tonight was not _'normal'_. He would find sweet bliss or, at least, a reason to try for **one more** **moon**.

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Downstairs, a quiet intruder emerged from the fireplace of 12 Grimmauld. His robes dusty with ash and his blonde hair cascading down his back midway; bound with a black leather tie. One Draco Malfoy sought refuge from the outside world.

He had deflected from the Dark side when his _mother_ had offered him as a catamite to the Dark Lord. When she could not produce him, Lucius killed her.

The final battle still robbed his mind of rest. It had been a blood bath where the smoke had made friend and foe alike into nothing but shrilled voices. His own hands were stained with the tainted blood of his father when Lucius had killed his lover Blaise. Blaise had been his life. Now, though, he grieved alone; not courageous nor drunk enough to join his love in the blackened skies of eternal peace.

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The world was just too busy for him nowadays. The Dark Lord had been defeated nearly **two** months before but the celebrations were far from over. He knew the deserted headquarters of the Order to be the only quiet his rattled mind would ever find. It was the last place anyone would look for him, not that any would, and the one place he would discover a shot at a new life. A moment in time when rules wouldn't mean a thing and even with the odds far from his side, he would succeed.

The night disappeared, along with many bottles of scotch, but nothing would take the nightmares from the blonde's troubled heart. A constant heartache for love that could not ever be replaced. No amount of alcohol could lessen the facts, including that he was indebted to one man; Remus Lupin.

A stray curse had barely missed him as his former professor had shoved him out of the way and took it full force into his chest. Extensive research never revealed the curses nature but the normally tired man was looking more ragged with each passing day.

What scared Draco the most was that the man had not wanted anything for the life debt. Remus had simply smiled, released him from the debt, and a happy life. For once, Draco Malfoy was free from everything and it _frightened_ him more than Death; more than Voldemort ever had.

His musings were shattered by noises coming from upstairs. He gave no thought about what or who it was before streaming to the Sobering Potion. With his wits about him, he slowly crept up the weary steps. The noises were similar to that of someone falling; stealthily mixed with whimpers of pain.

Draco never once remembered the full moon as he silently padded down the hallway. A werewolf never neared his thoughts as he reached the last door on the left. His hand never reached for his ebony wand as the door creaked open and silver eyes met those of ambered gold.

The werewolf was trying to get to his legs but continually collapsed at each attempt. Growling at the intruder did no good as neither moved and his growls were heard as nothing more complex than a pained moan. Finally, his body gave and he weakly collapsed in the moonlight.

Draco Malfoy stepped forward slowly, almost sure the half man had remembered his potion, but neither caring one way nor the other. Never losing eye contact with the animal, he walked gracefully to the wolf. When no protest came forward, besides a suspicious glint in the honeyed eyes, Draco sat below the window and let werewolf rest his head on his lap. He petted him silently for several minutes before whispering soothingly to his once professor.

He wasn't sure if he was understood or if he was just talking to the cold floor and damp walls. "Why did you do it?" You saved my life, and was even injured in the process, yet you set me free from retribution. There was no revenge for past acts of my family, no bribery, and all you did was smile warmly at my broken self and wish me the best. How can you be so worried about others without ever reaching for something you desire? All the times I tried to belittle or disrespect you, but you **still** remain civil and kind to me." He quieted for a minute to look at the wolf only to find himself being watched; a warm smile the only human trait to be seen.

"I know I spouted endless, petty threats and cruelties towards you that were undeserved. For that, I am sorry. You freed me when I would have given you my life. I would have welcomed death had you wished it to be but you **_freed_** me." Tears rolled slowly from his closed eyes down his tired face. He was trudging on a crumbling bridge that swayed more with each word.

He could easily hear the werewolf's breathing become shallower with every silent moment that passed between them. The weariness was plain as day to a blind man. The clock read 4:30 am; only an hour to sunrise with a man who would not live to see the sunrise. It was then his decision was made. A solution to every dilemma and a way to repay the debt he believed due.

"Remus Lupin, I am in your debt and I will repay you. Your death shall not come tonight, nor for many moons to come. You once set me free to fly in any direction I chose and now I shall do the same. I give you back a freedom unlike any you have ever felt." He voice held a strong conviction as he looked down and smiled tenderly, down at the wolf, thru his tears. Tapping his wand to the wolf's head, he chanted a Latin scripture that would bring full circle the freedom of _two_ men and a wolf.

Spoken in Latin, he began, "For my freedom I recall. For your sacrifice I give. Replicate the troubled beast and set the soul unto the willing. Free the man who saved me and damn **_my_** soul whilst his is pure once more."

A golden glow surrounded the wolf and rushed from his; purging a darkness that had haunted him from childhood. As the glow receded into the blonde, Remus Lupin was human again. He, for once in his memories, stared upon the moon without being a Dark Creature; his soul was the carefree child once more as his flesh reflected his greatest fear.

Remus pulled back from the blonde and pulled a sheet around his shaking form. He heard the blonde scream and his head snapped to watch in twisted sympathy. He watched the blonde transform; not once, but many times. The wolf was battling for dominance in a body that was not used to it; against a soul that took the fight in strides. Remus Lupin was now a full man thanks to one soul seeking redemption and was at terms with imminent death.

He moved forward to the sweat soaked blonde and pushed the hair from the sweaty brow. He murmured a tearful thank you and placed a chaste kiss on soft lips.

As the moonlight died from the night sky, and daylight brought forth a new dawn, one soul followed with a peaceful wolf behind him all the way.

**Redemption** was found for a man, who had battled evil in his soul, as the wolf walked into the beyond. The other found a long awaited **freedom**, and a gateway to his love.

For years to come, the story would be told of how one man saved the other and died by the silver of the moonlight.

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**A/N:** I know, it is a tear jerker. I was balling as I wrote it. I hope everyone enjoyed it. It is unbeta'd as of now but that will change soon.


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